Murder in the Classroom
by InkyAnimatronic
Summary: After a 15 year old student is found dead in a math classroom, it's up to Inspectors Lexi and Jones to find the killer. But after something happens, it becomes a race against the clock to find the killer before someone else gets killed first. Can they solve it? Or will there be more victims? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**I decided to post this after all! Only this isn't going to be a reader insert like my other one. This will probably be longer than that one so it's easier for me to write myself in for it.**

 **Takes place in-between "Murder on Campus" and "Rorschach Reaper"**

* * *

 **Murder in the Classroom**

 **Chapter 1 -**

* * *

It was about 11:22 A.M. when Chief King called Jones and I into his office for a new case.

"Inspector Lexi, Jones." King said as we walked into his office. "I have a new case for you." He looked down as he said this.

"What is it?" Jones questioned, raising a eyebrow.

"A 15 year old sophomore was found dead in a classroom at Rosalina High School." King said, sadly.

"Huh. I graduated from there." I say, without thinking.

"So you know the layout?" King asked and I nodded. I should remember the layout just fine despite it being about 10 years. "Good. Now leave and head to the crime scene."

"Okay." I nodded and headed out with Jones following close behind me.

"You went to a private school? You think any teachers you had are still there?" Jones asked as we walked out the main doors.

"I don't know. Maybe." I shrugged, "I went to a private school all my life. Excluding college that is."

"Huh. I'd gone to public school all of mine. Funny how our high schools are rivals in football." Jones grinned as we got into a police car.

"Yeah but you gotta admit, Rosalina is better at football than Grimsborough High School." I chuckled.

"Yeah…yeah." Jones rolled his eyes as he turned the car on.

"Though I am curious to know how much it changed over the last 10 years. I'm friends with them on Friendnet and I know I've seen pictures of the renovations they've done to the classrooms over the years." I said once we pulled out of the parking lot.

"But the layout shouldn't of changed much." Jones said.

"It shouldn't of." I replied. "But who knows."

"I wonder how this kid died." Jones said, sadly and breaking the minute long silence.

"I hope it was a accident but Hell knows it probably wasn't." I frowned.

"Yeah. But how could someone kill someone in the middle of a school day and in a classroom for that matter?" Jones questioned.

"Could've been during the teacher's free period. But I'm pretty sure they are suppose to lock their doors whenever they leave the room. Even for a few minutes. So this kid and someone else somehow got into it." I said, looking out the window.

"We'll definitely have to talk to the teacher of that room." Jones said. "And find out where they were at the time."

"Agreed." I nodded. "And probably the principal or a few friends of the victim too."

After about 10 minutes, we arrived at the High School. A teacher that was outside led us up to the third floor and to the room where the possible murder took place in.

"Mr. Smith." The teacher said, walking up to a man I recognized. "These are Inspectors Lexi and Jones. This is Principal James Smith."

Mr. Smith had salt and pepper hair and blue eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here." Smith said, turning to us. "It's awful what happened to that girl."

"What can you tell us about her?" Jones questioned.

"She was a 15 year old sophomore. Poor girl was found dead in a math classroom." Mr. Smith replied.

"What's her name?" I asked, typing the information onto my tablet.

"Hannah Berrie." Smith replied and looked me up and down. "Do I know you by chance?"

"Perhaps. I graduated from here close to 10 years ago." I replied, not looking up from the tablet.

"I thought I recognized you and your name!" Smith nodded. "You were a more quiet and reserved kid, right?"

"Bingo." I smiled and looked up.

I was surprised that he even remembered me since I wasn't a sports player or very popular. I liked solitude better than dealing with people.

"You probably didn't think you'd be back here for this, did yah?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Not at all." I replied.

"Who found her?" Jones decided to ask.

"The homeroom teacher." Smith replied. "His name is Paul Brone."

That name sounded familiar…

"Where was he when it happened?" I questioned.

"He said he was in the teachers lounge and came back for the next period to find her dead." Smith said.

"Can you show us to the crime scene so we can collect evidence and get a good look at our victim?" Jones asked and Smith nodded.

Smith turned and headed down the hallway to a classroom. He then allowed us inside and that's where we found the girl.

Hannah Berrie had been pushed back into some desks, making them fall over. She had a serious bruise on her face like she had been punched. And her glasses were beside her, looking like they had been thrown down.

I also noticed her phone being on the floor too.

"What are you thinking, partner?" Jones asked as we got a good look at the victim.

"I'm thinking that someone had pushed her back into the desks after hitting her in the face." I replied. "They may have also grabbed her glasses and threw them down. Let's collect the glasses for Grace, cellphone for Alex, and get the body to Nathan pronto."

Once the obvious evidence was collected, we allowed the forensic guys to come in and collect the body to get her back to the station for Nathan to look at.

After getting one final look at the crime scene, we decided that was enough and went to talk to more possible suspects.

When we walked back into the hallway, a familiar teacher was talking with the principal. He has black hair and brown eyes.

"Mr. Smith." Jones said as we walked up to him.

"Everything alright?" He asked us.

"Yes, we collected evidence and are letting the forensic guys take care of everything now." I replied and turned to the teacher, figuring out who it was since I was closer. "Mr. Brone, where were you when that happened?"

"How do you know my name?" Brone questioned.

"Mr. Smith told us a while ago and I also graduated from here 10 years ago." I said. "Now answer the question."

"I was in the teachers lounge at the time." Brone said. "It was my free period. Hey… you're Lexi, right? I never saw you as a detective."

"Wouldn't your door be locked since you weren't there?" I asked, typing stuff into my tablet. "Yeah. I guess I found my calling." I shrugged.

"It was! I don't know how that girl and someone else got in." Brone replied.

"What period was it?" I asked Mr. Smith.

"It was 4th period." Mr. Smith replied and I noted that.

"What is your 5th period class?" I asked Mr. Brone.

"Another sophomore geometry class." Mr. Brone replied. "I had Hannah in my 1st period geometry class. The students were mortified when they walked in and saw the body."

"I'm sure they were." Jones replied.

I look back up from typing on my tablet. Jones glanced down at it and noticed I put a _"SUS"_ next to the teacher's name. Despite both him and the principal being on the suspects list.

"Mr. Smith, can you get us any information you can about the victim and her family?" I asked, turning to him.

"Of course, I'll head down to the office and get it." Mr. Smith nodded.

"Thanks." I nodded back. "We'll talk with other teachers in the hallway in the meantime."

"Can I go back to my room?" Brone asked.

"Not yet." I shook my head. "Probably best to go elsewhere for the time being until the forensics crew is done."

"Alright…" He said and headed down the hall with Smith.

Once they were away from us, I began looking at the top corners of the hallway, in search of a camera. With my luck, I found it near the doorway that the two men had exited through.

"What's up?" Jones asked. "You think the teacher is suspicious? And you know him too"

"Definitely. I had him senior year for Statistics. Can you catch up with Mr. Smith and tell him we need a copy of the footage from that camera." I said as I pointed to it.

"Okay. But I don't know where the office is." Jones replied.

"It's down on the floor below us. Just go down the stairs to the right. It takes up the entire right side of the hall." I replied, telling him the directions.

"Okay." Jones nodded. "I'll be back soon."

I watched as Jones headed down the hallway and decided to talk with another teacher while I waited on him. Going up to the door across from the crime scene, I knocked on it.

"Yes?" A woman answered.

"Hi. I'm Inspector Lexi investigating the death of the girl across the hall behind me." I said. "I was hoping you can answer a few questions."

"Of course." She came out of her room that had students in it.

"What's your name? I was wondering if you heard anything?" I asked, turning my tablet on.

"Mrs. Mills and No." She shook her head. "We were watching a movie. We heard a crash but thought nothing of it."

"Did you see anyone enter or exit the room?" I questioned, typing her name.

"I didn't." She said. "I was focused on grading papers and the students watched the movie."

"Hmm." I hummed and decided I couldn't think of anymore questions that could help the case. She didn't seem suspicious anyway so I had her in the witness notes. "Thank you. That's all for now."

"You're welcome." She said, going back into her room.

I glanced down the hall and saw Jones was on his way back so I headed down and met him halfway.

"Find out anything new?" Jones asked.

"Apparently the class across the hall heard the crash but thought nothing of it because they were watching a movie. The teacher was focused on grading papers and the class on the movie." I replied. "She isn't suspicious to me."

"Great…" Jones huffed.

"I know you just came from there, but I think we're done here. Let's wait in the office for the information." I said.

"Okay." Jones nodded.

A few minutes later, Mr. Smith came around the counter with a folder of all the information we needed on the victim. Including; her schedule and family information. He also handed me a disk for the footage from the security camera.

"Thank you." I replied, taking the disk as Jones took the folder.

"You're welcome. Ah, here's her family now." Mr. Smith said, noting the parents and what we assumed was a sister that had came in behind us.

"What happened to my baby?" Mrs. Berrie cried.

Jones and I looked at each other, sadly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Berrie, I'm inspector Jones and this is my partner, Inspector Lexi. Why don't we go somewhere and we can talk privately." Jones said, taking a step forward.

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 **Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**That was a quick update!**

 **Chapter 2 -**

* * *

Mr. Smith had suggested we use the library since no one was in there at the time so that's where we went. The parents and sister sat on one side of the table and Jones and I on the other.

Once we were settled, we told them about their daughter and how she had passed away.

"Oh my God." Mrs. Berrie cried as her husband held her.

"We're terribly sorry for your loss and will do everything we can to find the killer and bring justice." Jones said, sadly. He hated breaking that type of news to people. Especially family.

"What's your name?" I asked the sister, who has red hair and green eyes, after a minute.

"Lucy Berrie." She replied, wiping her eyes. "I'm a senior here."

"What class do you have fourth period?" I asked, typing on my tablet.

"French." She replied. "That's the period my sister died in?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Who did she have?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied and looked at Jones.

"Let me check her file real quick…" Jones trailed off and opened it.

After looking at some papers, he came across her schedule.

"She was in study hall during fourth period." Jones said.

"Yet she was found upstairs in Brone's room?" I added.

"Urg…" The sister huffed. "I can't stand that guy."

"Why's that?" I questioned, turning to her.

"He's just a horrible teacher! Moves too fast and bitches at us when we ask him to slow down." Lucy replied, crossing her arms.

"Lucy! Watch your mouth!" The mother scolded.

"Whatever." Lucy shrugged.

"Did Hannah have any problems here at school?" Jones decided to change the subject.

"Not that we know of." Mr. Berrie replied and turned to his eldest daughter.

"Not that I know of either." Lucy said.

"Were the two of you close?" I asked Lucy.

"Not really." Lucy replied. "She could be doing drugs and I wouldn't even know it."

"Why weren't the two of you close?" Jones questioned.

"I don't know." Lucy shrugged again. "She was never really popular and I was. I didn't want her ruining my image so I chose to avoid her during school hours."

"That's a bit harsh to do to your sibling." I said, raising a eyebrow.

"That's not all!" Lucy started. "She recently started to hang out with MY friends! They went as far as claiming she had better style and fashion ideas than me! I'm the one that's going to become a famous fashion designer one day not her! Lately all they asked about was her and barely talked to me!"

Jones and I did a quick glance to each other as I typed this new information into my tablet and moved her from the witness section, since I wasn't sure if she was suspicious or not, to the suspect section.

"She just wanted to get closer to you." Her mother sobbed.

"You know your sister had social anxiety and had a hard time making friends." Her father added, rubbing his wife's back. "She probably thought you'd be okay with her getting close to your friends so you could hang out more often."

"Hm." Lucy huffed before looking down, looking guilty from what she had said to us. "Doesn't matter now. Though…I do wish I had been a better sister… I guess…"

"I think that's about it." Jones said, after a moment. "Thank you and again, we're sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Mrs. Berrie nodded as she got up.

We watched the family leave and once they were out the door, we decided to talk about what we had just heard.

"Well, that certainly makes her a suspect." I started.

"Yeah. Horrible how she could be so mean to her own sister. But I guess that's siblings for you." Jones replied.

"I honestly was about to shrug it off as simply being teenage siblings and their drama. But now I'm not so sure." I sighed.

"Ready to head back to the station?" Jones asked.

"Hm hmm." I hummed and nodded.

We left the school and headed back to the police department. Once we were there, we got the body to Nathan, glasses to Grace, and phone to Alex.

After leaving them to figure things out, Jones and I went back to our desks to go over the information that we had so far.

"Okay, so." I started, turning my tablet on as he opened the folder with her information in it. "The girl had to of gone to that room for a reason."

"It was her study hall and the teacher's free period." Jones states. "Maybe she went there needing help since she had him earlier this morning."

"Makes sense." I nodded in agreement. "But he wasn't there, or so he claims. If he really wasn't, someone else must've been there instead. And managed to get inside his room if it was locked like it should've been."

"From the looks of things, they were angry at her. That's why they pushed her back and seemed to of thrown her glasses to the ground. Question is, why?" Jones asks.

"Not to mention, the class across the hall heard the noise but was too focused on other things to even check to see if something had happened in there." I added. "Hell, probably too focused to look up and out the door's window if the door was shut."

"The sister has reasons to be angry. She was jealous of her sister making friends with her friends and having the same dream as she does." Jones says.

"But would it force her to kill her own sibling? I mean, I know we've seen a lot in the cases we've worked on thus far but really, anything could've happened in there." I replied as Jones looks through the file and pulls out a piece of paper. "What's up?"

"A doctor's note. It seems our victim was diagnosed with Dyscalculia. Not sure what that is though." Jones replies, looking up at me. "Can you check on your tablet?"

"Don't have to." I frown slightly. "It's a learning disorder. Someone with it may struggle to understand numbers and learning math facts. They may also have poor comprehension of math symbols and have a difficulty with telling time and memorizing or organizing numbers."

"How do you know that off of the top of your head?" Jones questioned, amazed I knew that so well.

"Because I have it." I replied, looking away.

* * *

 **I do legit have it. And it fucking sucks so much.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Why do you seem sad by having that?" Jones asked, noticing my demeanor had changed.

"It was always a insecurity and quality I hated and still hate having. I practically failed math throughout High School and College especially and just barely passed because of it." I replied, staring at the floor. "It wasn't until High School that I was diagnosed with it by my doctor."

"You weren't…bullied…for it, were you?" Jones asked, feeling protective over me.

"No." I shook my head. "But it didn't help my already dangerously low self esteem. Every math class I had after 7th grade made me feel stupid as Hell and that I was never going to get anywhere in life because of my issues in anything Math related."

"Well, you did get somewhere in life." Jones smiled. "May I remind you you're an inspector at age 27?"

"True." I smiled back.

"Hey, you had that teacher when you went there. Was he horrible to you?"

"Not personally as far as I can remember. But I always felt judged by him and any other math teacher I had." I replied, thinking about it.

"At least that was the only subject you struggled with." Jones said.

"Other than English. But that was mostly due to my god awful handwriting. Which is why I like using the tablet so much." I grinned, holding it up.

"Yeah." He grinned back. "Anyway, so she had Dyscalculia and it probably damaged her self esteem as well." Jones said sadly. "I can imagine her sister may have used that against her at some point."

"Wouldn't be surprised." I said, truthfully. "I also wouldn't be surprised if Brone judged her silently as well."

"That too." Jones nodded.

About a half a hour later, making it around 12:40 P.M., we decided to see what Alex could tell us about the camera and the phone.

"Hey, guys." Alex said as we walked into the room.

"Hey, get anything off of that camera?" I asked.

"Yep." He nodded and pulled it up on the screen in front of him. "You can see one of your suspects in the hallway right around when it had happened. Hell, maybe right after even. Thing is," He fast-forwarded it. "He didn't go back to his room until that period was over."

"Right after the bell too." I said, watching the students exit the rooms. "You would think he would've gone back a little while earlier."

"That's what I thought too." Alex agreed.

"What about that phone?" Jones asked.

"I checked it out after you got it unlocked, Lexi." Alex started. "Seems she had been texting some guy named, 'Jake Singer.'"

"Got any information?" Jones questioned.

"Of course." Alex nodded. "I'll send it to your tablet. Though I assume he's probably home since the students were sent home a while ago."

"Thanks, Alex." I smiled and turned to Jones. "Come on."

Jones nodded and followed me out the door. Once we were in a car again, I turned the tablet on and checked the information that Alex had sent.

"Here's his address…" I said, telling Jones where the guy lived.

About 10-15 minutes later, we pulled up to a decent looking house in a nice neighborhood.

"This is?" Jones questioned.

"It should be." I confirmed as we got out of the car.

Walking up to the door, I rung the doorbell. A few minutes later, a young teenage guy with black hair and brown eyes answered the door. It was pretty obvious he had been crying for a while now.

"Hi, I'm Inspector Lexi and this is my partner Inspector Jones. Are you Jake Singer?" I asked, giving a comforting smile.

"I am." He nodded.

"Can we come in? We need to talk to you about what happened earlier." Jones said.

"Sure." Jake nodded again and stepped aside so we could enter.

"Where are your parents?" Jones questioned.

"Work." Jake replied, shutting the door.

"They checked in, right? I'm sure they heard what happened." Jones asked, worriedly.

"They did." Jake said and sniffled. "I'm sorry, can we make this quick?"

"Sure." I nodded. "How did you know Hannah Berrie?"

"We've been best friends for a while now." Jake said, focusing on the floor.

"How did you treat her?" Jones asked, raising a eyebrow. "And are you friends with her sister?"

"I was the only one that really understood her. And no, Lucy is a bitch if I'm being honest." Jake replied, looking back to us.

"So you know about her learning disorder and having a hard time making friends?" I asked.

"Yeah." Jake nodded. "I tried to include her in things the best that I could. I thought we were finally starting to grow closer. Maybe even more than just friends or best friends. But I'm not sure if she shared those same feelings."

"Sorry that you lost her." I replied.

"Are you working on finding her killer?" Jake asked. "She had to of been killed! But I'm not sure by who…other than her sister, I know she didn't have many enemies."

"Thanks for that information." I said, typing it down.

"Do you know whether or not she did good in Brone's class?" Jones asked.

"Not good." Jake said, regretfully. "I think she was going to his class during her study hall for extra help but I'm not sure how that dick may have treated her. He always seemed so judgmental of everyone."

"Yeah…I think I remember him being a bit of a jerk when I had him about 10 years ago." I replied, thinking back to senior year.

"You had him!?" Jake asked, shocked. "I pity you. Trust me, he probably hasn't changed at all."

"Really?" I questioned. "Well, if you think of anything that could be useful information, be sure to call the police department."

"I will." Jake nodded and showed us out.

"Have a good day." Jones smiled.

"Thanks." Jake smiled back. "Same with you two." Then shut the door once we were back outside.

"Doesn't seem all that suspicious…but his feelings could've made him do something stupid." Jones said and I nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why don't we go to the victim's house?" I suggested. "Maybe we can find something in her bedroom?"

"Good idea." Jones nodded and started the car.

Once we got there, Mr. Berrie opened the door and let us in. he then led us to his daughter's room.

"Sheesh…what a mess…" Jones said as soon as we were alone.

"Are you really that surprised?" I questioned, putting on gloves.

"I guess I shouldn't be." Jones replied.

"Well, start do that side of the room." I said, pointing in the direction the closet is in. "And I'll do the other half."

"Okay." Jones nodded and got his gloves on.

After about 20 minutes of searching my side, I decided to start looking inside the desk she had in her room, hoping something would be there. Meanwhile, Jones had found a picture torn up in a trash can.

"Hey, Lexi." Jones called.

"Yeah?" I asked, not looking up from the drawer I had opened.

"I found a picture I know you can put back together within 3 minutes."

"Get it in a evidence bag and I'll look at it in a few minutes." I replied.

"Will do." Jones nodded. "Finding anything in there?"

"Not yet…wait…" I trailed off as I pulled out a notebook at the bottom of the drawer. "What's this?" I questioned more to myself.

"Looks like a notebook." Jones winked, coming up next to me.

"Nooo. Really? I couldn't tell." I said in a sarcastic voice and rolled my eyes at him.

"I didn't ask for sarcasm." Jones chuckled.

"I didn't ask to take care of that picture later." I replied and opened the notebook up.

"Whoa…" Jones said, eyes widening. "Those are some messed up pictures."

The drawings alone looked like to could be taken as a suicide note with stick figures dying in practically every way imaginable.

"God…this is awful." I frowned as I turned the pages.

"And yet the sister probably had no idea this was how she really felt." Jones folded his arms, feeling a bit angry.

"Well, if this isn't a suicide note than I don't know what is." I shook my head and closed the notebook, feeling I had seen enough depressing drawings for the day.

"I'll…grab the evidence bag for it." Jones said, feeling sad himself.

"Thanks." I said, walking with him.

After placing the notebook in a bag, I decided to look at the torn up drawing and hoped it would be better than that.

Took a few minutes, but I pieced the drawing back together.

"Thank you, God." I sighed in relief when I finished.

"What?" Jones questioned, kneeling down beside me, whom was sitting on the floor with my legs crossed.

"It's just a fashion drawing." I replied, showing him.

"That's really good!" Jones said, looking at it. "Wonder why she would tear it up? Other than those horrible drawings but…you would think something like this would make her happy."

"Unless she didn't tear it up herself." I replied. "Let's get both things to Alex and get fingerprints off of the drawing."

"Good idea." He nodded.

After searching the room some more, we didn't find anything that could be important so we decided to leave.

We said goodbye to the parents and headed out the door back to our car once we got everything together.

However, we did have to avoid the questions of what we had found since we couldn't and really didn't want to tell the parents of the discoveries we found.

A little while later, we had arrived back at the station when Ramirez came up to us within minutes of walking through the bullpen.

"Hey, Ramirez." I greeted.

"Hey, Lexi." Ramirez greeted back. "A student that was friends with the victim came by and dropped a cookie off for you as a thank you for looking for her killer."

"Aww." I smiled. "That's sweet…literally. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome." He nodded and grinned. "Come on, I placed it on your desk."

Jones and I followed Ramirez to our desks and I immediately grabbed it before Jones could try to take it. It was a fairly small cookie so I was able to eat it within two bites.

"Really?" Jones said, almost sadly and shocked I wasn't sharing with him.

"What?" I questioned, innocently.

"You're not going to share with your best friend and partner?" Jones asks.

"Nah." I shrug. "Get your own cookie, you dork."

"To be fair, the cookie was meant for her." Ramirez piped in.

"Don't you have a case to work on yourself?" Jones questioned him.

"Maybe…" Ramirez began to walk away.

"Hey, wait." I said, stopping him. "Can you take this notebook and drawing down to Alex and get prints on the picture?"

"Sure." Ramirez nodded, taking both evidence bags. "What's in the notebook?"

Jones and I glanced at each other.

"Trust us…you really don't want to know." I replied.

"Oh…" Ramirez said, feeling uncomfortable. "I'll see you later."

"It was meant for me." I added after Ramirez left.

"Some partner you are." Jones pouted.

"Look, if you want a cookie so bad than how about this, once the case gets solved, we'll go out to a cookie store and it'll be my treat." I suggested.

"Fine by me." Jones looked like he was about to start drooling.

"Okay, don't turn into a Bloodhound on me and start drooling." I chuckled.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm gonna try and update "Never Would I Ever" tonight too. And to the Anon, in a way, yes it can be related to the canon universe. Nothing much is going to be changed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

"Anyway, let's go over what we have now." Jones said, snapping out of his drooling state.

"Well, the girl definitely seemed to of been suicidal." I said. "Yet that was murder. No way she could of thrown herself backwards with such force on her own."

"No. She couldn't of." Jones replied. "Jake claimed to of been friends and may have wanted something more. But had no idea whether or not she felt the same way or not."

"Then there's the sister who hated her and didn't like her taking her dream or her friends." I added.

"This case is so sad." Jones said, looking down. "I just hope we finish it quickly so her family can have some closure."

"I agree." I said. "And it's not even a gruesome case. Just sad how it probably could've been avoided."

"Right…" Jones replied.

"Not to mention that Brone was in the hallway when it could've happen and didn't go back until the following period." I said. "That still bothers me."

"Yeah. That is suspicious but so far we have three people that most likely could've done it. I don't think the principal did it though."

"Something tells me he didn't. But the other three do have reasons for killing her." I said and glanced over to see King coming up to us.

Jones noticed too and we both sat up straighter.

"Has either of you figured out who the killer is?" King questioned, stopping in front of our chairs.

"No…" Jones replied.

"But…" I added. "We do have three suspects that could be the killer."

"And?" King asked, wanting more.

"We also know that the victim was suicidal. At least the notebook we found in her bedroom made it seem like she was." Jones said, feeling sad again.

"That's awful." King shook his head, in a disappointed manner. "I can only imagine what she was going through."

"Yeah. We were going over the information we have now." I replied.

"We're still waiting on Nathan, Grace, and Alex to get back to us on the stuff we sent them along with the body itself." Jones added.

"Well, hurry up and finish the case. I don't think the family can manage much longer." King said with a sigh.

"We'll try harder but until the others get back to us, we won't know any qualities the killer has." I said.

"Then go back to the school and see if you can find anything else out there." King suggested.

"Okay." Jones nodded. "We'll head out in a minute."

"Fine by me." King nodded back and turned to walk away back to his office.

"Actually, I thought about looking into her locker. Maybe we can find something else there." I said, once King was out of sight. "Probably nothing that could tell us who the killer is but anything else is better than nothing."

"True. Will the principal get us inside it?" Jones asked and I nodded so he continued. "Let's go!"

About 10 minutes later, we were back in the school's office.

"Hi, Mr. Smith, can we ask you a few more things?" I asked, as we walked in and saw he was just behind the counter talking to a receptionist.

"Of course." He nodded and motioned us back. "We'll talk in my office."

"Great!" Jones smiled and we followed him into a room down the hall behind the counter.

"What can I help you with now?" Mr. Smith asked once we were inside.

"A few things." I started. "Can I have a copy of Brone's schedule? Just to have our own version of it."

"Sure." Mr. Smith said and started to type at his computer.

"Another thing," I continued as he printed the schedule. "Did Hannah have any bullying problems?"

"Sadly yes." Mr. Smith said with a frown. "What's worse is that it was mostly from her own sister." I noted that in my tablet.

"Yeah, we heard they didn't get along at all." Jones said. "What all did her sister do to her?"

"Basically made her a laughing stock and ruined her stuff. I have also been told by teachers and kind students that she pushed her around a lot too and berated her about things."

"I'm guessing about her learning disorder and not becoming a fashion designer when she's older?" I questioned and Mr. Smith nodded.

"It's so horrible." Mr. Smith said. "We tried to keep them apart and tried to tell her to leave her sister alone but Hannah kept hanging around her and her friends. Personally, I think it made things worse."

"It did." Jones confirmed. "Lucy hated her being around her friends."

"We contacted their parents but they probably didn't do much. They said it happened all the time at home too." Mr. Smith continued.

"Well, thank you for that new information." I said, turning my tablet off for the time being. "One more thing, can you let us into her locker?"

"Sure." Mr. Smith replied and got up, handing Brone's schedule to Jones.

A few minutes later, we were on the first floor science hallway and outside of a locker. Mr. Smith helped us get the lock off and left us to search it for any clues.

"Good thing the family didn't take anything yet." Jones said as we got our gloves on again.

"Yeah. Probably will be soon though." I replied. "Let's do this quickly."

Jones nodded and we got to work on searching the locker for anything that could help us in the slightest.

"I'm going to check her book bag." I said, taking it out of the locker.

I kneeled down and began to open it, taking her lunch out as well. For the most part, it was empty. As I unzipped the outer pocket and reached in, I did feel a small book. Pulling it out, I realized it was a diary.

"Please don't let there be anymore depressing pictures." I muttered to myself but loudly enough for Jones to hear next to me.

"What's that?" Jones asked, turning around.

"A diary." I said, flipping through the pages. "It's mostly full. Why don't we send this to Alex?"

"Good idea." Jones nodded. "He'll probably be able to read through it quicker than us."

"Did you find anything?" I asked, closing the book bag after putting the lunch back inside, deciding nothing else seemed suspicious about it.

After that, I placed the journal in a evidence bag and sat it down on the floor before getting up to my feet.

"A folder of some of her designs in it. Fortunately, none of these seem to be torn up." Jones replied, looking through them.

"That's good." I said, in relief. Not all of her hard work was gone.

Jones placed it back where he found it on the top shelf of the locker and we continued to search through the books and folders but didn't find anything else that could be important.

"I think we're done here." I said, putting the book bag back in the locker and picking the diary and my tablet up from the floor.

"Yeah, everything else is normal school books and work." Jones agreed.

By the time we reached the back of the school and the exit doors to the parking lot where our car was parked, I began to feel…off.

"Jones." I muttered, grabbing the railing of the two steps after we walked through the door.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning back to me.

"Take this." I handed him the tablet and diary with a shaky hand.

"Are you alright? I've never seen your hand shake like that before." He asked, worried.

"I don't… I don't feel good." I shook my head and my legs shook as I got myself down the stairs. "I'm starting to feel…lightheaded."

"Lexi?" Jones watched as I tried to step toward the car but my legs ended up collapsing underneath me. "LEXI!?" Fortunately, Jones was able to catch me before I face-planted into the concrete. But when he rolled me over, after setting me down, he saw I was already out cold.

* * *

 **Whoops...I killed myself...**


	6. Chapter 6

Jones paced around the waiting room at the hospital. With some help from a teacher, he was able to get me into our car and to the hospital. But the doctors told him to wait there and that someone will be out soon.

In the meantime, he decided to call Chief King.

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." Jones muttered as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Chief King answered.

"Chief!" Jones started, freaking out.

"What is it Jones?" Chief King asked. "Did you catch the killer?"

"No…" He trailed off. "Something's wrong! I had to take Lexi to the hospital!"

"What?! Why?" Chief King questioned.

"I don't know! She just collapsed as we left the school! The doctors told me to wait in the waiting room while they took her to the ER." Jones replied.

"Stay there and I'll be there soon." Chief King said, standing from his desk.

"Okay." Jones nodded and continued to pace around the room.

After saying goodbye to Jones, King stepped out of his office and grabbed Ramirez.

"Ramirez, I need you to come with me." King stated coming up to him.

"Okay." Ramirez said. "But why?"

"I'm not sure what all happened but Inspector Lexi is in the hospital. We're going to meet Jones in the waiting room." King replied.

"What? Oh dear…I hope she's alright." Ramirez said, shocked.

"I hope so too." King agreed. "Come on."

About 10-15 minutes later, they walked inside the hospital and found Jones talking with Dr. Andy Choi.

"Jones! Dr. Choi, what can you tell us?" King asked as he and Ramirez walked up to them.

"It's horrible!" Jones started, "Lexi's been poisoned!"

"What!?" King and Ramirez asked in unison.

"Yes, we pumped her stomach but some of the poison slipped through to the rest of her system. Basically the same thing that Inspector Jones went through before." Andy Choi said.

"Do you know what kind of poison it is?" King questioned.

"I'm afraid not." Choi shook his head. "I've already got my guys checking out the sample I gave them and have this sample to give to your guys."

Choi handed King a bottle of poison.

"I'll be sure to get it to my team." King replied.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Ramirez asked.

"I'm afraid without a antidote, it'll be a miracle if inspector Lexi survives the night. Or makes it to nighttime." Choi said, sadly.

"Oh… Can we go see her?" Ramirez asked, looking down.

"Yes. Follow me, she should be settled into a room now." Choi replied and motioned them to follow.

A few minutes later, they were inside my hospital room.

"Lexi! Are you feeling alright?" Jones asked, running to my left side.

"I feel like Hell. But thanks for asking." I replied with a weak smile.

Then I frowned and looked away.

"Though…I don't think I'll be able to continue working on the case. Now I know how you felt when you got poisoned." I added, avoiding Jones' sad eyes at hearing that.

"Don't worry about the case." King said, making me look up at him. "Jones and Ramirez will take care of it. Just rest, that's a order."

"Yes sir." I said. "I'll gladly do just that."

"Don't worry, Lexi." Jones said, making me look back to him. "We'll catch this son of a bitch and get the antidote for you."

"I know you will." I replied.

"Come on, she needs rest." King said, walking towards the door.

"See yah, Lexi." Jones said, giving me a quick hug and Ramirez doing so too right after.

"Bye, guys." I said and watched them leave.

Lying back, I looked up to the ceiling. Hoping that they would be lucky enough to get the antidote since we were lucky we got it for Jones.

Meanwhile, King was back in the waiting room with Jones and Ramirez.

"King, we found a diary in the victim's locker. Can you get it to Alex for us?" Jones asked. "We need to head back to the school."

"Of course." King nodded, sadly.

"What's wrong?" Jones asked.

"I'm just fearing for Lexi's life. It's a miracle we were able to get the antidote for you. The chances of us doing it again for her is low." He said.

"Don't worry, we'll stop at nothing until we find it." Jones replied before looking down at the floor. "I… I honestly don't know what I'll do if I- er I mean we, lost her."

"Neither do I." Ramirez added.

"Well, go ahead and get back to the school. I'll be sure to get the diary and poison to the rest of the team. I know I can count on you." King said.

"Will do." Jones nodded.

As they were walking out to their cars, Jones decided to ask Ramirez what the girl looked like that brought the cookie for me.

"Ramirez, what does that girl that brought the cookie look like?" Jones asked. "I know that's what got her sick."

"She was shorter with blonde hair and blue eyes." Ramirez said.

"Did you get a name?" King questioned.

"No." Ramirez shook his head.

"Well, let's hope the school can help us figure out her identity." Jones replied.

"If she was friends with the victim, she may have went there last year so wouldn't she be in the yearbook?" Ramirez asked.

"Yeah! She should be!" Jones nodded. "Let's go!"

Once they gave the diary to King, the two hopped inside Jones' car and headed back to the school.


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally got around to updating this! Might end up finishing this one first and then focus on "Never Would I Ever"**

 **Enjoy! Remember, I love reviews! :D**

 **Chapter 7 -**

* * *

As soon as Jones and Ramirez got to the school, they rushed upstairs to the main office.

"Hey, we need to see the yearbook for last year!" Jones said, coming up to the counter. "There's a sophomore that we need to find and we are hoping she went here last year."

"Of course." The secretary said. "I'll go grab it from the library."

"Thanks! Please, hurry!" Ramirez replied, watching her quickly leave the office.

"Everything alright, officers?" Mr. Smith asked, coming out of his office and around the counter.

"No." Jones shook his head. "We're trying to find the identity of another sophomore. She brought a cookie for Lexi and she got sick off of it. Now she's in the hospital…dying."

"Oh no! I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Mr. Sam replied. "Do you think that student poisoned her on purpose?"

"We're not sure yet but we will find out soon." Jones said.

"Here it is." The secretary came back in and handed Jones the yearbook.

Jones quickly opened it and went to the freshman section.

"Let me know when you see her, Ramirez." Jones said as he began to flip pages.

After three pages, Ramirez stopped him to study a page and his eyes soon landed on a girl.

"Her! That's her!" Ramirez said, pointing to her picture.

Jones looked up and over to Mr. Smith.

"We need info on Nikki Masterson." Jones said.

"I'll go get it." Mr. Smith said, turning to head back into his office.

"So this is her?" Jones asked Ramirez.

"Yes." He nodded. "I'm positive."

"Good." Jones said, relieved. "Hopefully we'll figure out what she poisoned Lexi with. Can we keep this with us in case we need it again?" Jones asked the secretary.

"Of course." She nodded.

"Thanks!" Jones replied as Mr. Smith came back out.

"Here you go." Mr. Smith says, handing him a few papers. "All of her information is there."

"Thank you!" Ramirez said as they began to walk out with Jones already looking for a home address.

"Here, Ramirez." Jones said, handing him the papers and the yearbook as they walked down the stairs. "I already found her address."

"That was quick." Ramirez replied.

"Well, we have to be quick. My partner is dying." Jones sighed and Ramirez felt sad himself.

"We'll get the antidote." Ramirez said, trying to cheer him up. "We got to."

"I know." Jones smiled. "This girl could very well tell us now what she put into the cookie."

Once they were back inside the car, Jones turned the sirens on and quickly sped to the girl's house.

After arriving, they raced up the front porch and practically pounded on the front door despite there being a door bell.

"Grimsborough PD!" Jones yelled as he banged on the door.

"I'm coming!" A woman called from inside.

Jones took a step back as the door was opened.

"Yes?" The woman asked.

"We need to talk to your daughter, Nikki Masterson, about what happened earlier today." Jones said, figuring she was the mother.

"Oh my daughter is very heartbroken at what happened. Her and Hannah were friends." Mrs. Masterson replied.

"Well, we still need to talk to her. It's urgent!" Ramirez said, quickly.

"Of course." Mrs. Masterson nodded and took a step to the side. "Come in."

The guys walked inside and was led to the living room and told to wait there until the mother could bring Nikki out from her room.

"Excuse me?" Nikki asked as she walked into the living room. "W-Why did you want to talk to me?"

"It's about the death of your friend and possible death of a officer." Jones replied as she sat down in a chair, with the guys sitting on the couch.

"Oh…WHAT!?" Nikki said, shocked. "A officer is poisoned? How?"

"That cookie you brought into the station made the officer it was given to sick and now she's currently dying in the hospital." Ramirez replied.

"We just want to know why you would poison her? She never did anything to you other than solve the death of your 'friend'. Unless you killed her that is… did you kill her?" Jones asked, sounding more hostile by the second.

"I-I didn't kill m-my friend!" Nikki burst into tears. "I d-didn't know the c-cookie was poisoned either!"

"Then why did you bring it in!?" Jones asked, getting frustrated.

"Jones, calm down." Ramirez said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We don't know if she's the killer yet." He then turned to the girl. "Please, just tell us the truth. Our friend's life is in danger if we don't get an antidote really soon."

"My friend…s-she was murdered by a monster. That same monster… he… he forced m-me to bring t-that cookie in." Nikki replied, staring at her hands in her lap. "P-Please believe me…that wasn't my fault."

"A monster?" Ramirez questions. "Can you tell us more?"

Nikki shakes her head and then buries it in her hands, letting out a loud sob as her body begins to shake.

"That's enough!" Mrs. Masterson cuts in. "I'm going to ask you to leave! To even think my daughter would kill her friend and take a officer's life…" She said in disgust as she hugged her daughter.

Jones and Ramirez looked at each other and when Jones was about to say something, Ramirez grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Thank you for your time. We'll show ourselves out." Ramirez said, dragging Jones to the door.

"We need to get the antidote, Ramirez! What are you doing!?" Jones questioned once they were outside and heading towards the car.

"She isn't the killer." Ramirez said, looking at him as they came to a stop.

"Is this about some 'monster'?" Jones questioned. "Monsters don't exist! Plus she was the one to bring the cookie in!"

"She mentioned that a 'HE' forced her to bring it." Ramirez said.

"And…?" Jones asked, raising a eyebrow.

"I just think…maybe we should focus on our male suspects. It's very possible this girl is being framed." Ramirez replied, looking at the car. Jones let out a huff.

"Fine…okay. Let's add to the profile that the killer is most likely male. Even though I'm sure with enough anger, a girl could push someone into those desks." Jones replied, calming down a little. "Let's head back to the station. Surely the rest of the team has something by now."

"Agreed." Ramirez nodded.

As the two drove by to the station, Ramirez driving because of how upset and agitated Jones was, they suddenly got a phone call.

"Hello?" Jones answered, putting his phone on speaker.

"Where are you two at?" Chief King asked.

"On our way back to the station." Jones replied.

"Good. I had another detective look over Lexi's desk and they found a note on it that may have came with the cookie that you simply didn't notice. I'll show it to you when you get back." King said.

"Okay." Ramirez replied, a little scared.

Back at the station, King hands them a bag with a note inside of it.

 ** _You keep looking for me and more people will die._**

Was what the note read.

"What are we going to do?" Ramirez asked, scared that more people may die if they continue the case.

"We're going to keep looking! Show this person they don't scare us. Let's go see Alex." Jones hands the bag back to King and starts walking away.

* * *

 **Is it a male? Female? You'll find out next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Two chapters in one night :o**

* * *

Walking into Alex's lab, they find Cathy is there with him.

"No time to talk. What did you guys figure out?" Jones said, more angrily than he wanted as he and Ramirez rushed inside the room.

"Hi to you too." Cathy said, almost sadly.

"What's wrong, Cathy?" Ramirez asks.

"This diary and everything about this case is just so depressing." Cathy replied, with a frown.

"Yeah. I agree." Ramirez nodded, sadly. "Did you find out anything?"

"Your victim was definitely depressed and suicidal. She even mentions of having low confidence and self esteem." Alex replies.

"Drawing was basically the only thing to help her cope and they are so good too! By the way, the sister's prints were on the drawing that was torn up." Cathy added.

"Another thing she mentioned was that learning disorder you and Lexi discovered she had." Alex continued. "And how she always felt she made her teacher feel frustrated due to asking so many questions. Among other things too."

"Poor girl." Ramirez frowned.

"It doesn't stop there." Cathy sighed. "She tried to get closer to her sister by hanging out with her friends and designing clothes but at some point she started feeling she was only pushing her away."

"Her sister was bullying her a lot recently. Ever since she started hanging out with her friends and slowly becoming popular around them." Alex added. "That's all we got but I think Nathan found some stuff."

"Thanks guys." Jones looked at the floor, everyone being overwhelmed with sadness.

"You're welcome. And Jones?" Cathy said and continued once he was looking at her. "I feel like we're getting closer to finding the bitch that did this. So…Lexi might be okay."

"Have you got any updates?" Jones questioned.

"We called the hospital a while ago. They said she was resting but her vitals were still showing signs that they were fading." Alex replied, sadly.

"Oh…" Jones sighed. "Well, we better head to Nathan. We'll see you guys later."

"Bye." Cathy waved as the two men left the room.

A few minutes later, they were with Nathan.

"Hey guys, I was just about to call and ask where you were." Nathan said as they walked into his lab.

"What do you got for us, Nathan?" Jones asked as they stepped up to him.

"Well, it was pretty obvious how she died so I focused on her bruise on her face and any fibers that weren't hers." Nathan started.

"And? Did you find any fibers?" Ramirez asked.

"You bet I did." Nathan nodded and continued on. "Not only did I find fibers coming from a necktie but black hair too! You know what that means I'm sure."

"Our killer is wearing a tie and has black hair!" Jones grinned. "We're two steps closer to getting that antidote!"

"Three actually. I measured that bruise and from my understanding, it was a large hand that hit her. Meaning that the killer is around 6 ft tall!"

"Yes!" Jones grinned. "This is exactly what we needed to help Lexi!"

"Yeah… I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Lexi. Grace and I have been trying to figure out the poison but no luck so far." Nathan said sadly.

"It's alright." Jones replied. "We might get the killer real soon."

"I hope so. And I think Grace has some things she wanted to tell you too." Nathan replies.

"Thanks, Nathan!" Ramirez says as they head out to find Grace.

A couple minutes later,

"Grace! What did you find?" Jones asked, bursting through her doors.

"Some DNA. But not a lot I'm afraid." Grace turned to them. "There was some DNA on her glasses from whoever grabbed them and threw them down to the floor."

"Did you get anything good off of them?" Ramirez asks.

"You mean like the killer having brown eyes? Yes." Grace nodded.

"Woo hoo!" Jones grinned again. "Thanks, Grace! Come on, Ramirez. I think we have enough to arrest our killer!"

The two headed out back to the bullpen and with their files of all the suspects to make it easier to figure out who the killer is.

"So they are definitely a male like that girl said." Ramirez started.

"They wear a tie and are 6 ft tall." Jones continued.

"Not to mention, they have black hair and brown eyes." Ramirez added.

"Meaning….our killer is…." Jones pointed to the person.

* * *

 **I lied. NEXT chapter you will find out who the killer is. (for reals). But given the evidence, you can probably figure it out.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Short chapter. I'm tired and I feel like i'm getting sick.**

 **Chapter 9 -**

* * *

"The teacher!?" Ramirez said, shocked. "Who would've thought him?"

"Actually, Lexi had a suspicious feeling it was him." Jones says. "Let's go get him!"

About 10 minutes later, they had arrested him and taken him down to the interrogation room.

"So Mr. Brone, why did you do it?" Jones asked once they were in the room.

"Did what?" Brone asked, innocently.

"You know what you did! Now why did you do it!?" Jones said, already sounding frustrated.

"You have no evidence to claim I did anything." Brone replied.

"Oh yeah?" Jones smiled and raised a eyebrow. "How about finding your hair and fibers at the crime scene?"

"Which confirmed to us that the killer has black hair and wears a tie." Ramirez added.

"Or DNA on the girl's glasses that we were able to use to confirm the killer has brown eyes." Jones continued. "OR measuring the bruise on her cheek and confirming that it was done by a large hand, possibly a 6 ft tall person."

"Finally, we were also told by another suspect that a male 'monster' did the crime, telling us our killer was a male." Ramirez finished.

"OKAY! Fine! You got me!" Brone rolled his eyes. "it was only a matter of time. I guess I should've killed your partner myself."

"That's another thing, WHY did you do that!?" Jones glared. "Why did you try and kill my partner!? And threaten another teenager for that matter?"

"I knew that I was your number one suspect. I also knew that with her out of the way, you'll be too busy grieving to focus on the case. And I couldn't make myself any more of a suspect so I had someone else bring that cookie in for your partner." Brone replied.

"When did you get that time to even make it?" Jones asks. "Or pick the girl up and force her to bring it."

"I had plenty of time once the students were sent home for the day. And that girl was back at the school for some other reason. Sports? Hell if I know or care. I just took my gun and made sure she knew what would happen if she didn't listen to me." Brone said.

"You threatened another teenager and framed her for attempted murder of a officer just to get us off of your back!?" Jones said, disgusted. "That's just low, man!"

"So why kill the girl?" Ramirez asked, getting back on the main subject.

"I was just so annoyed with her constantly asking for help and failing my class. I guess I had enough of dealing with her stupid ass and finally pushed her into those desks." Brone said. "I left and returned at the beginning of the following period to look less suspicious. Guess it didn't work, huh?"

"No, it didn't." Jones replied. "If anything, it made you even MORE suspicious. Which reminds me, what the Hell did you poison Lexi with? Where is the antidote?"

"Right here." Brone handed him a bottle.

Jones looked at it for a moment in his hand. He wanted to rush it to me but knew he had to make sure it was safe.

"Ramirez, take this to Grace and have her check it." Jones said, handing it to him so it can be confirmed to be safe.

"Okay." Ramirez said, taking it and heading out the door.

"Let's go." Jones said, getting him up. "You're going into a holding cell. We're done… for now."

"Whatever." Brone shrugged.

About a half a hour later, Jones and Ramirez headed inside Grace's lab to find out the results.

"Grace, please tell me that was the antidote." Jones says as they walk in.

Grace turns to them and frowns.

"What's wrong?" Ramirez asks.

"I'm afraid that 'antidote' you gave me is actually more poison. If you had given it to Lexi without getting it checked first she would've been dead within minutes." Grace said, sadly.

"What!?" Jones said shocked then angry. "That son of a bitch gave us more poison!? I'm going to kill him!"

As Jones was about to head out the door, Ramirez stopped him.

"I have a better idea." He said, stopping Jones from walking out the door.

"What?" Jones asked, irritated.

"Let's go see Lexi. The guy has been caught and Judge Hall will take care of him later. Let's go see her for now." Ramirez suggested.

"I agree. She needs you with her not getting into trouble. Nathan and I will keep on working to figure out the poison in the meantime." Grace agreed.

"Okay." Jones said after a moment. "Let's head to the hospital."

"I'll call if we find out anything." Grace says.

"Thanks, Grace!" Jones nodded before they left the lab.

* * *

 **Trial chapter will be later on. I also plan on making a additional investigation chapter too.**


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